In the unincorporated community of East Pasadena, the concrete podium of a mixed-use development from APPA Real Estate is starting to rise above street level.

watermark Construction at 3768 E Colorado BoulevardUrbanize LA

The project, which broke ground in May 2020 at 3768 E. Colorado Boulevard, is a joint venture between West Hollywood-based APPA and its partners Sundance Bay and Geolo Capital.  Plans call for a five-story building featuring 100 apartments - including five deed-restricted affordable units - with 4,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space and two levels of subterranean parking.

KFA Architecture is designing the contemporary podium-type building, which will include four levels of wood-frame construction, culminating in sloping rooflines intended to reference the surrounding residential neighborhood.  Planned on-site amenities include a gym, co-working space, courtyards, and rooftop decks.

The development site, which APPA acquired in 2019 for $8.5 million, was entitled over three-year period between 2015 and 2018 by Bolour Associates.  It is among the first new developments built in Los Angeles County using its updated mixed-use zoning standards.

3678 E Colorado BoulevardGoogle Maps

APPA, which secured a $32-million construction loan last year for the project, is expected to complete the apartment complex in mid-2022.

The development site is located roughly one mile east of Metro's Sierra Madre Villa Station in the median of the 210 Freeway, where Trammell Crow subsidiary High Street Residential has secured entitlements for a 550-unit housing and retail complex.